Blood Mage
by Asirus
Summary: Lyna Mahariel and her companions venture to Redcliffe and try to break the siege; they manage to enter the castle and find that the battle has only just begun.


_Ok so here's Redcliffe. So it just occurred to me that I don't remember if Leliana's eyes are actually blue or not. I have a mod that makes her look like her CGI version (Sacred Ashes Trailer. I've got one for Morrigan too, actually), so her eyes in my game are a very pale pale blue and she's got REALLY red hair. I thought I'd mention just in case her eyes are a different color in the default._

_I also feel inclined to mention that I can't seem to not giggle every time I insert a... significant pause into Zevran's dialogue. I suppose it's a good thing if I can at least amuse myself with my own writing. :P  
_

_Disclaimer: As always, Bioware owns everything good, including Dragon age and Zevran and all that stuff._

* * *

**Lyna**

It was just after sunset, and the sky was cloudy, threatening rain. Lyna waited behind a line of Knights, Alistair among them, waiting for... _something_, some enemy to throw themselves at their line. Nobody was really sure what they would be facing, as the accounts of the townspeople were vague and disjointed. Even the Knights were unclear about what exactly the enemy was. Lyna toyed with the feathers of an arrow, trying to hide her nervousness. Several feet away, Morrigan was leaning against a large tree next to the windmill. The ever confident witch looked bored.

Lyna glanced down the hill to where she could just make out the Chantry which housed those not fit to fight; women, children, the elders and wounded... Shale, Sten, Leliana and Talin were down there, with a handful of militia. It was said that sometimes, the... things... came up out of the lake, and so the Warden had split her party. She heard a gasp in front of her, and turned to see one of the Knights pointing towards the bridge. The Dalish elf whipped her head around and saw the greenish fog rolling forth from the castle; it moved with unnatural speed, and she could see vaguely humanoid shapes moving within it.

She watched as the fog moved down the path towards their position and Ser Perth called for the oil to be lit. Suddenly, a dozen figures came charging silently out of the fog, swords and shields in hand. Lyna felt the blood drain from her face... _undead monsters, rotting fingers holding rusty swords, flailing wildly in the dark... the smell... Tamlen! _The Warden took an involuntary step back, unable to still her trembling... Until she felt a strong hand on the small of her back, his breath warm against her skin as he whispered in her ear, "I am here, my dear Lyna."

Lyna stopped shaking and threw the Antivan just behind her a warm smile. Alistair had insisted that someone stay with Morrigan and Lyna in case someone get past his line, and Zevran had volunteered. Lyna lifted her bow and took aim as the creatures charged, recalling that he'd said that exact thing to her once before...

_Lyna awoke with a scream that died in her throat; she was in her tent, not in the deep roads. The Archdemon was not there, breathing down on her with it's dark scales and terrible voice... The Warden started in surprise when a pair of warm arms slid around her, pulling her close, his lips pressed against the skin of her shoulder; she hadn't expected him to still be there. Zevran had joined her in her tent almost every night - except for the first three - since they began travelling to Redcliffe, but until now, he'd always left for his own tent afterwards with a kiss and some comment to bring a blush to the Warden's cheeks. She realized she must have dozed off, and he had stayed. The Dalish elf felt her heart skip a beat at the thought. He stayed. She felt his breath against her ear as he murmured, "I am here, my dear Lyna. Do not let your nightmare concern you." The assassin pulled the thin blanket over them and ran his hands along her bare skin, stilling her shaking with his gentle caress and a warm kiss on the back of her neck._

Countless undead enemies had fallen before them, smoldering from the lightning that danced from Morrigan's fingers or cut down by the Knights or sprouting feathers as Lyna shot them down, but still they came. Several times a few of the creatures managed to get around the front line to menace the two women, but always Zevran was there, his blades flashing in the light from the burning oil as he cut them down with ease. Lyna smiled faintly as she shot down another undead thing, pleased to see his gracefully sweeping movements with the sword she had given him...

_Three days after leaving the Dalish camp, the Warden sat, leaning against a fallen log, watching as the Antivan practiced with the Dar'Misaan she'd had crafted for him before they left the elves. She smiled when she recalled how surprised he looked when she gave him the gift, how his eyes had widened when he felt the perfect balance of the elven blade. And now she was watching him practice, his red steel dagger looking rather plain next to the gleaming silverite Dar'Misaan. It was like a dance, his movements graceful... or mostly graceful. Lyna giggled as he stumbled a bit, unfamiliar with the smooth curve of the elven weapon after using his longsword for so long. He shot her a mock glare when she laughed, and she stood up and approached him._

_Lyna put her hand on his, shifting his grip on the new weapon and running her hand slowly up his arm, her other hand on his hip, adjusting his stance. She tried to ignore his closeness, the spicy scent of his skin. "Try like this. Let it become an extension of your arm. It is an elven weapon, the shape designed to take advantage of our very nature, the natural rhythm of our arms." She looked up and found him watching her intently, his eyes with that predatory gleam she'd seen in the forest. She cleared her throat and took a step back, earning a smirk and a faint chuckle. Lyna sat back down and he resumed his practice, his dance with the weapons, and Lyna tried to forget the feel of his hands and the look in his golden eyes._

Lyna looked up as a flaming arrow pierced the sky. She blanched. _Leliana! _The bard would only send up such a signal if things were dire. She looked over to the Knights, noting that they were between waves of attackers, and ran over, Zevran on her heels. "Ser Perth, can you hold the line?! They need help below."

The Knight glanced towards the Chantry and then to the bridge where they could clearly see more enemies preparing to charge. He nodded, "Leave me Alistair and the mage and we'll be fine. Get down there!" She nodded and threw Zevran a quick glance and off they sprinted. The assassin slipped a bit ahead, his movements graceful, and murmured, "Stay behind me, my dear Warden..."

* * *

**Zevran**

Zevran panted slightly as he cut down another of the creatures. They were down before the Chantry, the creatures boiling up out of the lake like some sort of plague. He glanced over his shoulder for what felt like the thousandth time. Lyna was there, safe for now with the militia archers and Leliana, though her longer arrows sang out with much greater speed and accuracy then those of the human militia, even faster then the Orlesian. Ok, break time over. Another wave. He whirled into the melee, the silverite sword slicing through an undead figure as it tried to bite the mayor._ Ahh... marvelous weapon_. Zevran found himself smirking when he recalled his_ thanks _for the gift.

_Zevran waited patiently in the shadows as Lyna woke Alistair for his watch. The human grumbled audibly as he came out of his tent into the pouring rain and moved off for his watch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The assassin waited until the templar was out of sight, then slipped up behind Lyna as she was about to enter her tent._

_"Ah, but you look so very tense, my dear Warden." She started and turned to face him, her violet eyes shaded by the hood of her cloak. The Warden looked at him, puzzled, "I do?"_

_He lowered his voice, drawing out his words as he spoke, noting the faint hitch in her breath when he did so. "Yes indeed. Perhaps you would like for me to join you in your tent and use my skillful... hands to massage away your troubles?"_

_  
The slender rogue hesitated, her mouth dropping open and a blush coloring her cheeks. Her eyes showed that she knew quite clearly what he was after... and yet she hesitated. Ah, definite progress. Always before, the Warden was quick to turn him down with a quip and a smile, and the Antivan would bow his head with a smirk and leave it at that... but now she hesitates! Zevran felt his pulse quicken when the woman shifted her weight and stuttered, "I... uh... thought you'd gone to bed." He shook his head slightly, a faint smirk playing around his lips. The Warden paused, then tilted her head to the side, her violet eyes darkening slightly in the shadow of her hood, and smiled faintly. Taking his hand and backing into her tent, she murmured, "Yes, a massage sounds quite lovely Zevran."_

* * *

**Leliana**

Leliana stepped back from the line of archers to grab herself another quiver of arrows for her short bow. As she moved back to resume raining death down upon the undead monstrosities, the bard couldn't help but notice - for what felt like the thousandth time - how Zevran kept looking back from his place in the wild melee, his golden eyes always seeking out Lyna's slender form. Leliana found herself grinning despite the battle going on around her. Oh but her friend was in for an interesting time. Well, a **more** interesting time, anyway. _Ooo, I can't wait til we go shopping. I'll make it so she can turn the poor assassin into a little puddle of jelly with just a look... _The human archer sighted a large undead monster and muttered a prayer to the Maker, briefly recalling the incident when she went to wake Lyna for her watch two nights before this very battle...

_Leliana hummed quietly to herself. It was a cool night, but the sky was lit by what seemed like a million stars. She moved towards Lyna's tent, intending to wake her for her turn at watch, when she heard a faint noise from within. Instinctively slipping into the shadows by her own tent, the bard felt her eyes widen in surprise as Zevran slipped quietly out of the Warden's tent, his clothes rumpled; his golden eyes scanned the camp, but did not see Leliana hiding by her tent. He turned and whispered something into the tent and was about to head for his own when a slender hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. The assassin turned with a smirk and leaned down, meeting Lyna half-way as she stuck her head out of the tent and kissed him, her fingers twisted around the cloth of his shirt and her other hand resting on his neck. He shuddered slightly, and Leliana could hardly contain her giggling as she watched her supposedly innocent elven friend subdue the smooth assassin with a few touches and a single, albeit passionate kiss._

_Leliana grinned in the shadows with her hands pressed against her mouth as Zevran finally broke away and snuck into his own tent with a faintly dazed look on his face. She waited a few moments to give her friend time to compose herself, then crept over, humming again. She stuck her head in and grinned at the elf, who was sitting in meditation waiting for her watch._

_"You know, Zevran had the strangest look on his face just now." Lyna looked up, a faintly guilty look flashing across her face before she could compose herself. Clearing her throat and adopting an innocent tone of voice, the elf said, "Oh did he? I wonder why." Leliana giggled and whispered, "Well it could have something to do with how you just kissed him until his brain turned off." Lyna blushed. _

_Leliana grinned at her and said, "Time for your watch, by the way. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone unless you say. But we absolutely have to go shopping when we get to town."_

* * *

**Lyna**

Dawn was breaking, and the battle was over. Lyna trembled with fatigue, leaning heavily on her longbow as she watched the last of the undead creatures fall. She closed her eyes for a moment, wanting nothing more then to fall into bed and sleep, maybe pulling a certain pair of arms around her... He kept the nightmares at bay, somehow. But she couldn't. She had to check on her friends, had to see how many of the militia had fallen... and then they had to take the castle. It had to be today, if they waited, the creatures would likely attack again in the night and they'd be back at square one. _Gods but she was so tired..._

Lyna felt a hand on her arm, and opened her eyes to find Zevran standing before her, his face tired and some unidentifiable expression in his amber eyes. Not caring anymore what the others thought, Lyna let her head fall against his chest with a heavy sigh, shivering slightly as his arms came up around her. He had never held her this way before, not in front of the others, anyway... It was nice. She could still smell his spicy scent under the layers of sweat and grime from the undead creatures. She whispered, "I'm so tired, and we still have so much to do..."

* * *

**Zevran**

Zevran wiped his blades off with a rag, trying to get the 'blood' of the undead things off before he sheathed them; dawn was breaking, and the creatures were finally breaking off their endless attacks. Zevran slid his weapons into their sheathes, his eyes unconsciously seeking out Lyna. He frowned whe he saw her, standing alone on the steps of the Chantry, leaning heavily on her longbow with her head bowed and her eyes closed. _Maker, she looks tired... _He frowned again as he approached, wishing he could tuck her into bed and let the slender woman sleep, but he knew they still had work to do before they could rest.

The assassin brushed his hand along her arm, causing her to look up at him. Her violet eyes were tired; to his surprise, she almost immediately lay her forehead against his chest with a sigh. He pulled her against him, inhaling the faint wildflower scent that still clung to her hair even after the long night of battle. She had never sought out his touch during the day, not when the others could see. Zevran had assumed that she was concerned about what they would say about their..._ relationship_... and he had respected her wishes.

The assassin wasn't sure why his heart was pounding, but he brushed it aside when she whispered, "I'm so tired, and we still have so much to do..."

Zevran sighed, tightening his arms around her slightly, and murmured, "Yes, this is true, my dear Warden. I am also somewhat fatigued." He paused, a smirk on his lips and in his voice as he continued, "Though, as you no doubt recall, I have a great deal of... _stamina_. A bit of nourishment and I could very well continue all day long..." He was gratified by her giggle, even as she pulled back and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Zevran clutched it in mock agony as she said, "You are a bad man."

* * *

**Leliana**

Leliana watched the exchange between two elves with a faint smirk as she helped one of the militia tie a bandage around his arm. Her pale blue eyes followed them as they made their way up the hill to check on the others. "Completely adorable," she whispered, causing the militia man to look at her with a puzzled look on his face. She glanced at him and waved a hand, "Oh, no don't mind me."

* * *

**Zevran**

Zevran watched with narrowed eyes as Lyna crouched next to the man called Teagan. The fool had willingly followed that woman, Isolde, back up to the castle even though she was clearly hiding something, and then got his mind taken over by a demon in the shape of a child. _Serves him right..._ The Antivan did not like the Bann, did not like the way his eyes had crawled all over Lyna when they had been introduced in the Chantry the day before. Did not like his smarmy voice or the fact that he'd managed to live through the short fight after they encountered the demon-child...

The assassin didn't even try to curb his anger as the new, unfamiliar emotion raged through him. His eyes were fixed on the fool human as she helped him up, Isolde running over wailing something about Conner this and Conner that. He heard a faint laugh beside him and shot the witch Morrigan a glare. "What is amusing?" he hissed, his arms folded across his chest. The woman smiled a wicked sort of smile and glanced towards Lyna where she was talking with Isolde, Teagan and Alistair. "Such a jealous stare you give them, Zevran. Are you so unsure of your position that the slightest attention of a rival causes you to puff up so? Regardless, tis most amusing..." The witch laughed again and moved away to lean against a sideboard, her golden eyes flicking back and forth between Zevran and the Warden's.

Jealous? He was not jealous, why should he be? They had made no promises to each other, after all. He turned back to watch the slender Dalish archer and tried to get his ridiculous anger under control. It was then that he noticed the guards were bringing up the man they found in the dungeon... The blood mage, Jowan. He was brought before the Arlessa and was saying something about a ritual that might save the boy, and Isolde was nodding.

Suddenly, Alistair looked furious and started yelling. "Blood magic? How can more evil be of any help here?!" Zevran took a few steps forward, wanting to know what was being discussed when he noticed the distressed look on Lyna's face as she put a hand on Alistair's arm.

He heard her lilting voice as she spoke quietly to her fellow Warden. "Alistair, please calm down. I didn't say we were going to do the ritual. I just wanted to know all our options..." The assassin watched as the slender Warden turned to the Bann and said, "Do we have any other options? I do not want to kill a child, but I don't like the idea of this... ritual." Teagan frowned before speaking. "You could go to the Circle of Magi. It's only a day or so if you take a boat across the lake..."

"No!" Isolde interrupted, "Conner may not last that long!"

Lyna stared at the woman, then turned to look at each of her companions in turn, perhaps seeking guidance. Her eyes were a pale lavender as they drifted over Alistair and Morrigan before settling on the Antivan. Finally, she said, "We'll go to the Circle. We have a treaty compelling their aid anyway..." Zevran could not help but shiver. He could swear he heard her melodic voice again, but her lips did not move as she rested a comforting hand on the Arlessa's shoulder, her eyes on Zevran. _"And everyone deserves a second chance..._"

* * *

_And this one is done. It's a short one. I just wanted to catch up to where I started (the Broken Circle stories I wrote already). Now I can start working on the extra fun bits. :D_


End file.
